UCB initiated with "neutral"

01/04/06 - J.P. Morgan Securities

LONDON, January 4 (newratings.com) - Analyst Annie J Cheng, of JP Morgan initiates coverage of UCB SA (UNC) with a "neutral" rating. The 12-month target price is set to €44.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that Cimzia may witness significant market share gains in the Crohn's disease segment with Remicade as the incumbent biologic. The competitve landscape in the Crohn's disease market is challenging, in view of the sBLA filing of Humira, which is expected to be submitted after 12 months of the sBLA filing of Cimzia, the analyst says.